Rough Drafts ~ Shape Your Work

• Form it takes
• Genre
• Ghostwriting
• Outlines or Not?
• Slanting an Article for Various Markets
• Style
• Voice
• Writing that First Draft

Writing form is similar to genre but not quite the same because it can include communication forms that are not considered genre, such as letters. However, some of these forms can be used within a genre. For instance, a fictional love story could be written as a series of letters. When deciding what shape your work will take, consider both genre and form. (Fuller definition of genre below)

Various forms of writing, some of these are also genre terms, such as essay and reviews.

• Description & examples of writing forms
• Forms of writing with samples

• Each department of a book store may include several genre under that category. For instance, under Fiction, you might find “Crime, Mystery and Thrillers” and these could include sub-genres such as Action & Adventure, Detective Stories, Espionage Thrillers, Political Thrillers, Psychological Suspense, Pulp Adventure and True Crime. Fiction includes many other genres as well.
   

• Select what seems to be the closest to what you are writing, then read existing titles already categorized in that genre.
   

• If your work does not seem to fit into any genre, it could be more difficult to market.
   

• All genres in creative writing have a system of rules governing their writing and publishing. The main categories include:

• Article in Washington Post
• Getting Ghostwriting Jobs
• Ghostwriting Ethics
• Ghostwriting for Beginners
• Ghostwriting - getting credit for it
• Ghostwriting - the Publishing Industry's Best Kept Secret - interview with Bob Olson.
• Medical Ghostwriting
• The Scandal of Ghostwriting in Christian Publishing
• What is Ghostwriting?
• A Ghostwriting Seminar

For nonfiction writers, outlines can help you organize your material. Some fiction writers also like to use outlines to keep them on track with a story that they have already plotted in their imagination. However, other fiction writers prefer to begin with an idea and let the characters run with it, forming the story as it is written.

• Beginner's Guide to Plots
• Crawford Kilian - Advice on Novel Writing
• Fiction Forum - To Outline or Not to Outline?
• Online Writing Lab - Developing an Outline
• Outlining a Short Story or Not?

• Event: family or work-related incident, vacation trip, situation in the world, your city, your neighborhood, story from a news source — unlimited sources!
• Idea, ideal, purpose statement, thesis — you have something to say!
• Line from a poem, a dream, story idea, etc., strikes you: not sure how to develop it.
• Person: you meet or read about someone with a unique story or personality.
• Research: information gathered about a person or topic.
• Interview: information gathered from a person about them or any topic.
• The Word of God

Slants to Consider

• Spiritual
  » truth or insight seen in your source or directed to you from that source
  » lesson learned, shared as testimony or how-to
  » concern raised, shared to raise concern of others
• Intellectual
  » knowledge gained from source and needs to be presented
  » application or how-to gained from source
• Emotional
  » gut-reaction to source, needs to be shared
  » emotional appeal needs to be made regarding your response to your source
• Physical
  » information related to health, long life, physical well-being, etc., gained from source
  » gained insight into various physiological issues
  » new perspective on physical fitness, appearance, etc.

Specific examples

• Event: Went on skiing trip to mountains with brother, he saved you when you were in a life-threatening situation
  » travel article about ski location (lots done, your approach needs to be unique)
  » bonding with brother
  » finding out the true mettle of a person in a difficult situation
  » how to administer CPR if you haven’t had the training
  » quick prayers that God answers
  » avoiding danger when skiing
   
• Thesis: Christians need to develop a theology of conservation
  » essay with that as the thesis, and points that finish the statement “. . .of conservation because. . . .”
  » description of particular ecological violations with questions, or with some suggestions for how to think and act
  » short story (Hugh Cook: Pisces)
  » personal experience story
   
• Spark of Idea: from Linda Hall: “A Jewish woman in a local supermarket was searching in vain for the potato chips. Sailing up to me she asked, ‘Where stay the ships?’”
  » Linda Hall: “I didn't know the answer but I think that sentence would make a wonderful book title: Where Stay the Ships?”
  » Article on dry docks
  » How-to about anchoring your fishing boat or other personal sailing vessel.
  » Story of how the war effort was affected by navy decisions to not sail
   
• Person: Met a retiree from J. C. Penny who spent the summer fishing in Florida and the winter evangelizing and visiting employees from his old company in Michigan
  » Personality profile on a modern-day “fisher of men”
  » Creative nonfiction account of his call to this ministry
  » How to pray for your former co-workers
  » Making the most of retirement
   
• Research: collected huge amount of information on women discipling women, based on Titus 2:1-5.
  » Personal testimony
  » Prayers for mentors to offer on behalf of those they are teaching
  » How-to about the mentoring process
  » Essay on the vital importance of fulfilling the biblical models for women
  » Poem on the challenge of being a “keeper at home” in a world that lauds career women
   
• Interview: sat next to Lois Hole (recently deceased, and popular Lieutenant Governor of Alberta who was also a well-known gardening expert) at a fund-raiser
  » A gardener’s tips on how to cook vegetables
  » How high profile people set others at ease
  » Table settings for special occasions
  » Private spiritual life of public servants

Style is about how you put words and sentences together. It is word choices, being wordy or succinct, using active or passive sentences, writing fluidly or awkwardly. Style can be subjective, its value a matter of opinion. A certain style might be accepted in some circles (academics) and not in others (short fiction).

• Say No to Dead Fragments (editing too much!)
• The Writing Center on Style
• Writers Resources - Style Guides (links to other pages, articles)
• Writing Style - more links

Books on Style

• Ten Best Style Guides for Writers
• The Elements of Style (2000, 4th edition), by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. New York: Macmillan.
• The Art of Writing (1981), by Vincent R. Ruggiero. Sherman Oaks, CA: Alfred Publishing Company.
• The Chicago Manual of Style (1993, 14th edition). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, (1991, 2nd edition), by Henry W. Fowler. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Edit Yourself: A Manual for Everyone Who Works With Words (1982), by Bruce Ross-Larson. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
• The Elements of E-Mail Style: Communicate Effectively Via Electronic Mail (1993), by David Angell. Boston: Addison-Wesley.
• Essentials of English Grammar: A Practical Guide to the Mastery of English (1993, 2nd edition). Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books.
• Handbook for Writers (1983), by Celia Millward. Troy, MO: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
• The Handbook of Good English (1991), by Edward D. Johnson. New York: Pocket Books.
• How to Write Fast (While Writing Well) (1995), by David Fryxell. New York: Writers Digest Books.
• In Short: A Concise Guide to Good Writing (1981), by Louis I. Middleman. St. Martins Press.
• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (1996, 6th edition), by Kate L. Turabian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Merriam-Webster's Standard American Style Manual (1994). Merriam Webster.
• The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (1995, 4th edition), by Joseph Gibaldi. New York: Modern Language Association.
• Modern American Usage: A Guide (1979), by Wilson Follett. New York: Hill and Wang.
• Most Common Mistakes in English Usage (1971), by Thomas E. Berry. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (1982). New York: Times Books.
• On Writing Well (2001), by William Zinsser. New York: Harper & Row.
• The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (1994), by Sylvia Chalker. New York: Oxford University Press.
• A Pocket Style Manual (1993), by Diana Hacker. St. Martins Press.
• Practical English Writing Skills: A Complete Guide to Writing in English (1990), by Mona Scheraga. Passport Books.
• Prentice Hall Encyclopedic Dictionary of English Usage (1993), by Nathan H. Mager. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Prose Style: A Contemporary Guide (1990, 2nd edition), by Robert Miles, Marc Bertonasco, and William Karns. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity & Grace (1994), by Joseph M. Williams. New York: HarperCollins.
• 21st Century Manual of Style (1995), by Princeton Language Institute. Laureleaf.
• The Writer's Essential Desk Reference (1991). Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books.
• Write to the Pont! (1990), by Kim Henderson. Boston: Addison-Wesley.
• Write to the Point: And Feel Better About Your Writing (1991), by Bill Stott. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Writing, Reading, and Research (1997, 4th edition), by Christopher Gould, John Clifford, and Richard Veit. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
• Writing Strategies: Reaching Diverse Audiences (1990), by Laurel Richardson. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Writing Well (1996, 8th edition), by Sven Birkerts and Donald Hall. New York: HarperCollins.
• Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process (1981), by Peter Elbow. New York: Oxford University Press.

Voice is about creating a tone in your writing that is as distinctive as your speaking voice. Sometimes voice seems an illusive quality for the writer, yet readers can 'hear' your voice clearly. This is not about the author intruding into the story. It is about the sound of that author, but not as a distraction, more as a connection. Are you chatty? Distant? Authoritative? Whatever voice you convey will affect the relationship between you and your reader. Find out more at these links.

• Bothell Writing Center - Voice in Writing
• Efuse - Finding Your Voice
• Finding Your Voice
• Individual & Appropriate Voice
• Putting Voice into a Paper

• Most writing instructors will tell you to simply sit down and write. Write whatever you want to say. Write without thinking about punctuation, form, anything. Let it come out. Then, when you are done, go back and let the editor side of your brain begin to revise and polish your work. Most writers will tell you it takes a lifetime to learn how to do this!
• Levels of Structure in Fiction - an e-book by Victoria Grossack
• Write a Book in a week - site encourages you to write as much as you can in one week, no revisions allowed.

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